


the princess and her knight

by casterlyqueen



Category: A Song of Ice and Fire - George R. R. Martin, Game of Thrones (TV)
Genre: AU Fic, F/M, targister, the princess and her knight
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-05-14
Updated: 2014-07-14
Packaged: 2018-01-24 17:43:07
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,517
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1613729
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/casterlyqueen/pseuds/casterlyqueen
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In a world where Robert's Rebellion was crushed early on, Dany is raised a princess in King's Landing. One day she will wed Aegon and be king. She was always told this would be her story from the moment she was born. But that was not to be the princesses' story.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Daenerys never watched the trials. Though trial was a generous word for it. If her father was feeling a benevolent king, Ser Hastwyck’s pleas would fall on open ears and her father would spare his life. Or her father felt he was a wrathful dragon, in which case Ser Hastwyck would burn. Innocence didn’t matter when her father sat the Iron Throne. Watching the murmurs farce, watching a knight plead for his life, didn’t interest the silver princess. Instead she watched _him_.

He stood as still as a statue, his white armor gleamed in the sun, though not half as bright as his golden hair. Some said her brother Rhaegar was the most handsome man in the Seven Kingdoms, but Dany could never bring herself to agree. Jaime Lannister was the most handsome man in the Seven Kingdoms, you only needed eyes to see it. She watched him, the way his hand gripped his golden sword tight as the man begged for his life. The way his sharp green eyes seemed to be so distant, as her father spoke. The way his jaw tightened as her father uttered the word _burn_.

Dany stepped forward then, “Wait.” she said. A hush settled over the court as five hundred eyes settled on her. Not the least of which included Ser Hastwyck’s, Ser Jaime’s, and her father’s. Daenerys dropped her her head in a formal curtsy, before she stood up straight. Her shoulders squared as she met her father’s violet eyes.

“Father.” she said. “I know you have decreed that Ser Hastwyck must burn for his crimes, and I’m sure we all see the wisdom in your judgement.” She said. “But, Hastwyck is a house of the Reach. I am sure they sent men to fight against the rebel and traitor Robert Baratheon. Men who fought alongside, your noble and brave son on the field of battle. I beg of you, please, spare his life. My gentle heart cannot bear to see a man who once fought so bravely for us burn.”

The courtroom was still and silent like the surface of the Blackwater on breezeless day. Daenerys clasped her hands in front of her, to keep them from shaking but she didn’t flinch or look away from her father’s gaze. She stood there, between the maws of the dragon and his intended prey and she would not flinch.

“Ser Hastwyck, this one time I will find it in my heart to grant you mercy. Should you find yourself before me again I will not hesitate to let you feel the flames of my wrath.”

“Thank you, thank you, Your Grace. You will not find me back here.” the knight swore as he picked himself from the ground. His hazel eyes caught the princesses’ in a moment of silent thanks before he stumbled from the throne room. That was all the thanks she was likely to get, but his life was thanks enough.

The princess dropped a formal curtsy once more, dropping her head in deep bow. “Thank you father. I will treasure this kindness as if it were a gift.” she said. Her eyes lifted and she smiled at her father, before she glanced to Ser Jaime. He was paying attention to the room now. He had been paying attention since she first started to speak, Dany had been aware of his eyes on her the entire time. He was looking at her now with a mixture of reverence and wonder than caused a soft flush to touch her pale cheeks, and her heart skipped a beat. She only glanced at him a moment longer before she turned and hurried from the throne room.

Daenerys was almost lost in the throng of people filing out of the throne room when she felt a strong hand grip her arm. Startled her violet eyes glanced upwards, and she only relaxed once they fell on the face of Ser Jaime. He lead her down an empty corridor, some place where their conversation wouldn’t be overheard.

“That was brave, princess.” he said.

“Someone had to speak for -”

“And _stupid_.”

Daenerys frowned, “Excuse me? I’m your princess, one day I will be your _queen_ so I would refrain from calling me _stupid_.”

“Is that a command Princess?”

“I - you can’t just -”

“It _was_ stupid.” He said. “It was remarkably stupid, your father easily could have turned his wrath on you.”

“Kinslaying is -”

“How often do we hear you Targaryens say you believe you’re above the laws of gods and men. If your father wanted you to.. you would burn Princess, and not a knight on the Kingsguard would lift a finger to help you.”

“Not even you?” she asked. Her eyes touched his and the small corridor fell silent, which was a miracle in and of itself. The Red Keep was never silent. Daenerys didn’t know if she should take his silence as agreement or dissent. He didn’t answer her, instead a heavy sigh fell from his lips as his hand raked through his hair tugging at his golden locks.

“Just - don’t - don’t risk your life for these men. They aren’t worth it. They aren’t worth losing your life for.” He said, his green eyes shifted looking at some spot on the cold stone floors. Daenerys was just about to object, to say that her subject’s lives were worth hers - what kind of queen would she be if -

“Princess.” The voice belonged to none other than Ser Barristan Selmy. Daenerys turned to look at him. Her silver ringlets falling over one slender shoulder.

“Ser Barristan.” She said, a smile touched her lips though it didn’t quite reach her eyes.

“I noticed the princess slipping away from the throne room without a guard, I thought I would follow her.” Jaime said. He had leapt in the moment Ser Barristan appeared. It took Daenerys a moment to come to the realization of how this might look. Alone in a corridor, Ser Jaime was not to watch her today, Ser Barristan was her guard.

“I was feeling a bit overwhelmed from what happened in court. I’m sorry Ser Barristan, I left without thinking.” She said.

A smile touched the old knight’s face as he nodded, “You were brave in there, Princess. Most men do not have the courage to stand up to the king.”

A smile touched Daenerys’ face as she stepped away from Jaime towards her guard, “I thought someone should speak for the man. I am only glad my father listened.” she insisted.

“You will make a fine queen some day, a fine queen.” he said. “Come if you aren’t feeling well will go back to your chambers.” He said. Daenerys stepped over to Barristan, her movements slow as if she did not want to leave him, but must anyways. A princess must always do her duty after all. Though she cast one glance back at Jaime. This time his eyes met hers.

 _Perhaps Ser Hastwyck isn’t worth risking my life for_ , she thought, _but you, Jaime Lannister, are. And which man do you think I truly stood up for today in the throne room?_ She had seen it there, in his eyes, in the way his body tensed. He had wanted to say something but couldn't. As a member of the Kingsguard he could not do or say anything - but she could.  _I did it for you as much as I did him. And that was certainly worth risking my father's wrath._

 

 


	2. Chapter 2

The throne room was humid and hot that day. The air so oppressive that it was almost hard to breathe. The pale pink silk of the Princess’ gown clung to her body. She felt sorry for the knights, dressed in their armor. What fresh hell summer must be for the Kingsguard, she could only imagine. Her handmaiden had twisted her silver hair off of her head, and for that Dany could only be grateful. It was the only relief she could find that day in the packed throne room.

It felt as though everyone in the Seven Kingdoms had come to watch this trial. The people packed in, shoulder to shoulder, like cattle in a barn. The body heat only served to make the room more unbearable. Yet Daenerys refused to leave, she couldn't just yet. The princess was a dead man's last hope. And there she stood between her father and the latest man he had sentenced.

For the past four trials the princess had argued on behalf of the defendant. For the past four trials the princess had saved four defendants from her father's wrath. Trials were becoming more of a spectacle than they already were. The people wished to see the princess defend the people from her Lord father. Should she succeed or fail they would leave with a story to tell.

Daenerys stood there, the last thing between this man and certain death and she was losing.

“Father, please, _have mercy._ You _can’t_.” The young princess pleaded.

“ _Can’t_?” The word was sharp. Short. And a cold chill settled over Daenerys’ heart, even in the humid throne room. Her father leaned forward from that twisted throne, and Daenerys realized her mistake. You never tell a king what they can and can’t do.

“I only meant -”

“I think I know what you _meant_!” he snapped at her. "I am the king. _I am the king! I am your father! You do not command me!_ " His screams caused a hush to settle over the court, and would cause whispers later.  

A wiser man would have kept their mouth shut. The rage that darkened her royal father's face would have set lesser men to trembling. The princess opened her mouth to argue one last time - 

"I will escort the princess from the throne room; see that she is no longer a disruption." The voice belonged to Jaime Lannister. And before Daenerys could object he was hauling her out of the court room by her upper arm.

"What do you think you're doing?" She hissed, the words little more than a whisper as he pushed the doors to the throne room open and drug her into the hall. The knight gave no answer, only pulled her further and further from the throne room. His fingers digging into the tender flesh of her arm. He pulled her through the keep, dragging her towards her chambers. The silence from her guard made the princess feel like a chastised child, rather than a Targaryen princess.

He pulled her into her room and slammed the door behind them.

Jaime didn’t let her go, rather grabbed her other shoulder and gave her shake. “I told you, I told you these men aren’t worth risking your life for.” He growled. Daenerys had stood before her father, if she was unwilling to flinch for a dragon, a lion was nothing.

“You don’t get to decide who is and isn’t worth my life.” she snapped.

“I do, actually, get to decide that. That is the single perk of being a member of the kingsguard. I do get to decide who is and isn’t worth your life.”

“I can speak when others can’t. I am privileged enough that I can speak when other men, when you, have to stay silent. I’ve watched you Jaime.” she slipped into a familiarity before she could stop herself. “The way your hand tightens on your sword. The way your eyes lose focus as if you wish you were anywhere else. You would act if you could, but your position keeps that privilege from you. I can act. I can speak. For the people. For _you_. I cannot toss that privilege away because of fear.”

His hands loosened on her shoulders, his grip almost tender, though he did not let her go. “Do you know how many men I have watched burn in the near twenty years I have served your family?” He asked. His voice was softer as he cast his eyes over her. As if searching for something, though what the princess did not know. “Do not force me to watch you burn.”

“My father would never -”

“Your father is not of sound mind, Princess. There is never any telling what he might do. I told you no knight would save you should it come to that. Let me save you before it comes to that. It’s my job to protect you.”

“It’s your job to protect _my father_.”

“I’m sworn to your _family_ -”

“Then you serve at my _pleasure_ , Ser Jaime. Not your own.”

The word pleasure seemed to bring the conversation to a halt. Daenerys realized just how close she was standing to him. Her heart hammered in her chest and for the life of her she didn’t know why. Perhaps it was the feel of his sword calloused hands against her shoulders, gentle and strong all at once. Or the way she caught him looking at her lips. Her chest felt tight, her breath soft and shallow.

“Then what is your pleasure, princess?” his voice was softer, huskier even as his eyes fell from hers to her lips. Her heart caught in her throat. Her eyes lifted, brushing across the strong line of his jaw, and straying upwards to the golden blonde of his hair.

She caught the word _you_ , before it could fall from her lips.

Jaime didn’t seem to need her to say it. He pulled her in by her slender shoulders, his lips slanting over hers. Daenerys brought her hands to his chest, the armor  cool to the touch, and the princess wished she could feel the warm flesh beneath it. Her lips pressed back against his, soft and tender at first.  

This was not her first kiss, no, she had played at kissing as a young girl. She had kissed Aegon when they were younger, and a few of the boys at court; but nothing was like kissing Jaime. His kisses were not shy, or soft; his kisses were strong and they ignited a fire that raced under her skin.

He pulled her closer to him, one hand tangling in her hair as he tipped her head to kiss her all the deeper. Dany’s fingers curled against the white enamel, one hand slipping up to cup his face. Fingers brushing against the stubble curling along his jaw as she kissed him back. Passionate and eager, her kisses were a desperate plea for more.

Jaime pulled away first. “I shouldn’t have done that.” His voice was hoarse. He let go of her shoulders, putting distance between the pair as if space were what he needed to keep him from grabbing her again.

Before Daenerys could argue, or even reach for him again he was gone.

 

 

 


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The princess sneaks off to her knight's chambers in the middle of the night.

It was the hour of the wolf, the keep was silent and still. Daenerys peaked out her bedroom door to make sure that the white cloak guarding the royal apartments had left the hall, then made her escape from her bedroom. Slippered feet were silent on red stone as she ran down the hall.  Most people thought there was only one way in or out of the holdfast, but those people weren’t lucky enough to have Rhaenys for a playmate. The pair had found no less that four secret passageways in the Red Keep, including one that would let them sneak out of Maegor’s Holdfast whenever they wished.

Daenerys tugged the hidden stone door aside, and pressed a hand along the wall counting her steps until she found the ladder. She climbed up the rungs, until she pushed open another door, and there she was outside the holdfast. A smile touched her lips, and she gathered her seafoam silks in her hands and ran down the hall. Her silver hair streamed behind her, like a banner in the wind.

She snuck across the keep, avoiding the guards that a life time of sneaking around playing with Rhaenys had prepared her for. Of course, in all that time she had never snuck to the White Sword tower. She had never stepped where five sleeping members of the kingsguard, the best knights in the realm, lay sleeping. She had never done it for something half as risky as this.

Her heart still raced when she remembered the feeling of his lips on hers. When she remembered the way his hair felt under her fingers. The way his hands felt as they had slipped from her shoulders to her back and pulled her closer. The erratic pace of her heart, that made her flush like some silly young maiden every time she thought about it. Even a silly young maiden would know, the desires she had were not those of a girl.

The guards were easy to avoid and not to her surprise - sparse. She avoided the tower of the hand where the new hand’s household guard would keep watch. She had her sights set on the White Sword tower. Perhaps the riskiest place the young princess could be slipping off too.

Considering she was supposed to be abed…

Considering the things, the desire she was feeling for Jaime - was indeed wrong…

She should turn around and go back to bed. Pretend nothing between them had even happened but she couldn’t. She couldn’t pretend that kiss hadn’t happened and she didn’t want to. She wanted more.

Besides the two guards in the royal apartment everyone else was asleep, it made sneaking into find Jaime’s room all the easier. She stepped to his door and knocked on it, her knuckles rapped a soft beat against the white wooden door. Dany prayed to whatever god was listening at the moment that he could hear here. She didn’t dare knock any louder. She didn’t want to wake the other three knights that slept in chambers close to his.

“Jaime.” she whispered. Her hands touched the white door as she held her breath and waited. The white room was still and silent. Daenerys swore her heart beat as loud as thunder as she stood there waiting, waiting for her knight to open the door to his room.

The door opened though only a crack. He had been awake that much was clear. His chest was heaving as if he had run for miles, even in the low moonlight she could see the gleam of sweat across his chest. It was then she realized he was not wearing a shirt, his body all sinew and muscle. Stone masons could not fashion a better likeness of the warrior if they had centuries to chisel out the marble. Her heart fluttered like a trapped bird in a cage, before she could explain why she was there Jaime pulled her into his room.

"What in the seven hells do you think you are doing here at this hour?" He hissed.

"I needed to talk to you. About what happened earlier -"

"There is nothing to say. It shouldn't have happened. Leave it at that princess."

"I can't. I can't stop thinking about it."

"Stop." His voice was rough,

“It’s never felt that way before, never before. Not when I played at kissing with the boys at court, or -”

“Stop!” he grabbed her shoulders, startling her silent. Her violet eyes went wide and touched his face. Words died on her lips, and for once in her life Daenerys obeyed and closed her mouth. "Daenerys. You are part of the royal family I was sworn to protect. You are betrothed to the prince Aegon. You will be his queen one day, you will be my queen one day. I have taken vows to take no wife, and father no children. You must forget what happened today."

"I do not belong to Aegon, I am not a horse you must beg permission for before riding." His grip was strong but he let her lean in close to him. He wants this, I know he does. "So don't wed me then, and if I recall correctly there is plenty a man and woman can do without making children."

"You are still young what do you know of what a man and woman can do together?" He muttered, his voice was husky as their bodies pressed against one another.

"Girls talk. You were younger than I am when you took your vows. What do you know of what a man and woman can do together?" She whispered as her lips brushed against his collar hone, hands settling against his bare chest. He groaned as he slipped a hand to the small of her back, pressing her body tighter to his.

"Experience." He rasped.

"Then show me." She whispered, her lips brushing against his neck.

Jaime's hand clutched her night gown dragging it up over her hips as his lips claimed hers in a deep kiss. He was hungry as their lips met. His kiss was hungry and passion-fueled, as if he too had been thinking about her all night. Jaime swept her off her feet and lied her back against his white sheets. "I'll show you princess." He whispered against her lips.

"Dany. Call me Dany, Jaime."

"I'll show you, Dany.


End file.
